Research funding

How we fund research

The Heart Foundation funds heart research across the entire spectrum, from bench to bedside and beyond.

We fund a wide range of topics across the areas of biomedical, clinical, public health and health services.

Our research funding goes to both individual researchers and for projects.

2018 Research Funding Offers

The Heart Foundation is pleased to announce the recipients of our research awards; in 2018 we are funding 84 individual awards to support Australia’s best and brightest researchers to investigate the causes, treatment and prevention of heart disease, stroke and related conditions.

In 2018 the Heart Foundation received 348 applications; 24% of these were successful in gaining funding.

In 2018, the Heart Foundation has invested in 84 Australian researchers across:

Strategic placement of automated external defibrillators (AEDs) in public locations.

Dr Siva Namachivayam

Murdoch Childrens Research Institute

VIC

Peritoneal dialysis after cardiac surgery in children

Professor Richard Day

University of New South Wales

NSW

Vascular effects of empagliflozin in chronic kidney disease

Associate Professor Nicholas Gilson

The University of Queensland

QLD

Can a high intensity interval training program (Truck-Fit) improve the heart health of truck drivers

Dr Rachael Cordina

University of Sydney

NSW

FONTAN Personalised Exercise Prescription at yoUr Place Trial

Dr Cara Winnall

University of Western Australia

WA

The ULYCES Study

Dr Nitesh Nerlekar

Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute

VIC

Cardiac Fat and Coronary Artery Disease

Dr Andy Haynes

University of Western Australia

WA

Does physical activity early in life have a lasting impact on heart size, function and health?

Professor Trevor Mori

University of Western Australia

WA

Aldosterone and the heart

Associate Professor Raj Puranik

University of Sydney

NSW

Diabetic Cardiomyopathy and Cardiac MRI (DiCOM Study)

Professor Stephen Harrap

Melbourne Health

VIC

Better clinical evaluation of syncope

Dr Emma McMahon

Menzies School of Health Research

NT

Making healthy food choices the easy choice for people in remote Indigenous communities

Dr Carissa Bonner

University of Sydney

NSW

Randomised trial of an online consumer engagement tool for CVD risk assessment and decision making

Dr Helen McGuire

University of Sydney

NSW

Discovery of Novel Markers of Inflammation for Earlier Diagnosis of Heart Disease

Dr Camilla Hoyos

University of Sydney

NSW

Colchicine and cognition in coronary artery disease.

Dr Barbara Murphy

Australian Centre for Heart Health

VIC

Enhancing the uptake and acceptability of cardiac rehabilitation for women

Vanguard Grants give funding to test the feasibility of innovative concepts in public health or health services, including clinical service delivery. They are available to researchers for a concept study with the potential to improve cardiovascular health in the short term.

Partnership Engagement Grants (PEG) enable researchers to partner with the Heart Foundation to apply for NHMRC, ARC and other funding, for large-scale cardiovascular research projects.

Of the 2018 PEG applications the Heart Foundation has agreed to partner in five projects.

Name

Administering Institution

State

Award Title

Professor Yves d'Udekem

Murdoch Childrens Research Institute

VIC

A lifeline for single ventricle conditions

Professor Sophia Zoungas

Monash University

VIC

STAREE Life –Statins and lifestyle risk factors in older adults

Professor Robyn Clark

The Flinders University of South Australia

SA

The Country Heart Attack Prevention (CHAP) Project: A four step model of care and clinical pathway for the translation of cardiac rehabilitation and secondary prevention guidelines into practice for rural and remote patients.

Recognising Australia’s best and brightest heart health researchers

We are pleased to announce the awards for the year’s most outstanding and innovative applications.

Ross Hohnen Award for Research Excellence Vanguard Grants

This award recognises 2018’s most outstanding and innovative Vanguard Grant application. The recipient receives an additional $10,000 on top of the Grant.

The award recognises:

Clinical Professor Graham Hillis, University of Western Australia (WA)

Heart Foundation Paul Korner Innovation Award

This award recognises 2018’s most innovative successful Future Leader Fellowship and Postdoctoral Fellowship applications. The recipients receive an additional $20,000 on top of the Fellowship.

The award recognises:

Future Leader Fellowships

Dr Connie Wong, Monash University (VIC)

Associate Professor Yuerui Lu, Australian National University (ACT)

Postdoctoral Fellowships

Ms Dorothea Dumuid, University of South Australia (SA)

Dr James McFadyen, Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute (VIC)

New $5 million stroke prevention grant

This one-off grant has been offered to researcher who have demonstrated their work as innovative, internationally significant research that would showcase Australia as a leader in stroke prevention.

Two Australian researchers will share a $5 million grant to develop ground-breaking research on the prevention of stroke.

The $5 million bequest will be shared by:

Professor Michael Good, from Griffith University, Queensland, to develop a stroke vaccine to prevent Streptococcal A infection which can result in rheumatic heart disease (RHD) and result in RHD-related stroke. This research could lead to a simple childhood vaccine to dramatically reduce RHD related strokes.